Wind musical instrument



(fie Mode l.)

H. J. LIGHT. WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 454,748. Patented June 23,1891.

INVENTOR: my fi WITNESSES M01) 1&5

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TIARRY JOHN LIGHT, OF SEDAN, KANSAS.

WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 454,748, dated June 23,1891.

Application filed December 29,1890, Serial No. 376,145. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARRY JOHN LIGHT, of Sedan, in the county ofChautauqua and State of Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Devicefor Changing the Key of Wind Musical Instruments, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a means for changing the tone, pitch, orkey ofwind musical instruments, and has for its object to provide certaindevices whereby the bore or tube of the instrument may be lengthened asmuch as may be necessary to produce the requisite change in pitch,whether it be slight, like the change from the American pitch to theFrench pitch, or other low pitch sometimes necessary to chord with apiano or other instrument not quite up to the natural pitch of thewindinstrument, or whether it be great, as the change from B-fiat to A,330., including the other keys in which music is Written.

The invention consists in the novel de vices introduced into theinstrument and their construction and combination with the instrument,as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through a clarionet having theimprovement applied. Fig. 2 is a plan View of one of the rings employed,and Fig. 3 is acentral longitudinal section through an auxillaryorextension upper section.

By an acquaintance with and use of certain wind musical instruments-towit, the clarionet, flute, bassoon, oboe, saxophone, fife, flageolet,piccolo, and others of similar construction-it is ascertained that suchinstruments can be tuned or changed in key to only a slight degree, butnot so that a B-flat clarionet, for instance, can be tuned or changed inpitch of tone to the key of A. It can be changed only to a very slightdegree, not even enough to change the instruments from the Americanconcert-pitch to the French concert-pitch, which is lower. Hence it hasbeen found necessary by manufacturers to make separate instruments keyedon different notes or tones of the musical scale, flat, A,

(be, and also to manufacture separate instruments keyed at highorchestra or American pitch, and also others at the loworchestra orFrench pitch, thus makingit absolutely necessary for the professionalmusician using such instruments to provide himself, if desiring acomplete outfit, not only with a full set corresponding to the severalkeys in which music is written,but also with another orsecond set foreither the American or French pitch. The prime object of this inventionis to render such an outlay unnecessary and to provide a means wherebyone instrument may be changed to any desired pitch or be played in anykey and to make the change in an expeditious and convenient manner andat a trifling expense. The first method is by the insertion of flatrings or short tube-sections 10 between the sections of the instrumentat the joints thereof. The rings or washers may be made of bone,gutta-percha, celluloid, or other suitable material, and in constructingsaid rings or washers the top and bottom edges are made straight, andtheir interior diameters correspond precisely to the diameter of thebore of the instrument. The rings are placed, as heretofore stated,between the several joints ll of the instrument, the joints beingsomewhat lengthened, if found necessary. The joints of the instrumentsare of the mor= tise-ancbtenon pattern, and the inside diameters of therings are made nearly or exactly the size of the bore or tube 12 of theinstrument at the joint, and the outside diameters of the rings are verynearly or exactly the size of the mortise 13, made to receive the tenonl i of another section; but the outside diameters of the rings are suchthat they may be easily placed in position or removed when theinstrument is disjointed. The inside diameters of the rings are suchthat when placed in the mortise and the other section of the instrumentis replaced the tube or bore of the instrument will be uniform throughthe joint, as before. It will thus be observed that each ring addedlengthens the tube or bore.

The change of the pitch of the instrument will depend upon the extent towhich the length of the tube of the instrument is increasedthat is, uponthe width or number of the rings inserted and the number of joints inwhich they are introduced,whether one,

two, three, or more, as a ring may be inserted at one joint only toproduce a slight change of pitch, or more rings, or wider ones, and atmore joints, as the required change in the pitch of the instrument maydemand.

The first joint in which the ring or rings should be inserted in theclarionet, for instance, is the joint between the left and right handfinger sections or pieces, and if greater change be required in thepitch of the instrument then more rings should be inserted in or betweensuch other joints as maybe found necessary. This is to prevent theinstrument from becoming out of tune with and in itself, so that thescales of the new key will be perfeet throughout.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a modification or a partial substitute forthe rings, which consists in an extra section 15, of greater length thanthe tube-sections 10, having a tenon 16 at its upper end and a mortiselTat its lower end, and this extra tube-section is placed between themouth-piece and the first finger-section. By this means the tube of theinstrument is lengthened at the first joint, as by rings, and if suchextra section does not sufficiently change the tone of the instrumentrings may be employed also.

Tuning slides or cylinders have been used between the mouth-piece andleft-hand piece, allowing theinstrument to be drawn or lengthened,thereby changing the pitch of the instrument only slightly,but notenough to change the key of the instrument from, for instance, B-flat toA without making the instrument out of tune with itself; but such slidesor cylinders let into the inside of the instrument have not provedsatisfactory and are comparatively little used, not being sufficient tochange the instrument even from American concert-pitch to French concertor low orchestra pitch Without putting it out of tune with itself.

In order that the extension of the instrument may have the usual smoothappearance, exterior rings 18 are employed to fill the spaces covered bythe extension of theseetions.

llaving thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. In a wind musical instrument, the combination, withthe sections thereof, of a ring or tube-section reniovably inserted atthe joint of the sections, substantially as described.

2. In a wind musical instrument, the combination, with the sectionsthereof, of a ring inserted within the bore at the joint of twosections, the interior wall of which ring is flush with the walls of thebore, substantially as specified.

In a wind musical instrument, the combination, with the sectionsthereof, of a ring removably inserted within the socket of a section atits connection with another section,

substantially as described.

4:. In. a Wind musical instrument, the (30111- bination, with thesections thereof, of a ring removably inserted in the socket of onesection at its joint with a second section, and an exterior ring fillingthe space created by the extension of the sections, substantially asdescribed.

HARRY JOHN LIGHT.

Witnesses:

M. B. LIGHT, J OHN LIGHT.

